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Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Earlier today, reading one of the endless stories about Greinke, what he might want and whether he could handle playing in NY, etc, I was wondering what Greinke might be thinking during all this. It must be odd, being the focus of so much speculation. Well, now one thing appears more clearly: he really really wants out of KC, as reports are that he has asked to be traded after switching agents. Not sure what my feelings are about this. One thing I am certain about is that I wish Greinke’s exit from KC were more graceful or less acrimonious or something.

Written by Nick Scott about 5 years ago.

Ted, I don’ think its as acrimonious as you think. I understand what you are saying. I’d love to see him stay around longer or have this whole process go down better, but it’s nearly impossible for that to happen. I don’t like that Greinke’s new agent comes right out and declares that greinke wants to leave, thereby decreasing the Royals leverage. But that’s all part of the business.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

The leverage thing bothers me a lot. I get that he wants out, but it would be nice for him to show us some love, stay quiet throughout the process, and let DM negotiate for the best possible package. Unlike others, I don’t berate Greinke for wanting to leave KC — many before have wanted the same — but tanking the club’s leverage just to speed up the process seems unwarranted. Part of the business…maybe. I don’t know. It just feels disloyal and kind of mean (a word, I know, that might not have any place in baseball anymore, disloyal, that is).

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Maybe acrimonious isn’t the right word. How about spiteful? Or belligerent.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

You know what, my feelings on this are still unsettled. But I can reckon two things for certain: (1) Greinke has been one of my favorite Royals since the teams of my childhood; and (2) his exit is beginning to feel harsh.

Maybe I should direct more anger at DM for allowing such a culture of negativity to continue in KC. His ML moves really have been odd, counterproductive and often just plain bad baseball.

Written by Nick Scott about 5 years ago.

I understand your feelings and in many ways feel exactly the same. But we still have to seperate the actions of his agent from the way greinke feels. I can’t blame him for wanting to play for another franchise. Winning is fun, and if you have a choice, like Greinke does, then choosing that is fine. Let’s not let the way the negotiations play out sully the way we feel about greinke. He’s been an amazing royal and I’ll be a fan of his regardless of where he lands.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Yes, that makes sense, and with one part of my head I agree. But it is difficult for me to separate the actions of an agent from the wishes/thinking of the player. Particularly in this instance because Greinke fired his old agent and then his new guy immediately went on the offensive. It feels like this new agent is a war time consigliere, and that Greinke has decided to blast his way out of town (not certain whether that is a mixed metaphor, but I am sticking with it).

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Okay, I’m over it. Today is the day I learned to stop worrying and love The Zack Greinke.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Looking forward to discussion about the Greinke trade. It looks to me like DM said, “I want a SS and a CF,” and went out and got them. Hope he got the best deal available.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Definite upgrade at SS though. And Yuni is gone!

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Major coup for the Brewers. They just went from no rotation to one of the best in the NL Central. Greinke, Marcum and Gallardo, with their offense, should make things an interesting three-team competition in the Central next season.

Not certain what to think about our side. So far I don’t see an impact player among the four. But maybe that is okay.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

And Crasnick already begins the spin for NY: “The Yankees, for example, were likely to pass on any run at Greinke given the questions about how he would adapt to the high pressure of New York.”

Not normally one to trash talk about media guys, but this is pretty far afield; Crasnick doesn’t even bother to quote anyone, he just asserts it as truth.

Escobar is a very good player, and someone that can be controlled for the next few years. I like the pick up of Lorenzo Cain – he was rated as their 8th best prospect and should be a solid leadoff hitter. Plus, getting rid of Yuni makes this deal even better. It seems that Moore realized that his value would never be any higher, and struck as soon as he could.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Odirrizi looks like the biggest get in this deal. At least, the guy with the highest ceiling. Maybe not though. If Cain can regain his walk numbers from the minors and start stealing bases at a decent clip, he could prove a solid big leaguer with good upside. Cain, honestly, is looking like a decent comparable to Brett Gardner, who I love. Not as accomplished yet, and probably won’t ever steal as many bases, but he has proven an ability to play center with an above-average glove, and if the batting turns into 340 wOBA-type, then he can be a significant contributor, maybe 3.5+ WAR (or more).

Wouldn’t call Escobar a very good player, not yet. He is a solid defender, but his bat looks too much TPJ right now. Still young, obviously, but his minor league offense was almost completely driven by batting average and stolen bases, two things that are hard to predict (I think). But even without the offense, if he continues to dazzle with the glove, he will be a solid contributor.

The pitchers, not certain. Jeffers is intriguing, mostly because his fastball is so darn fast. But his control is terrible, just atrocious. Probably a bullpen guy is what most people think. We’ll see. Also, he needs to stay away from the drugs.

Odirrizi though, he has shown strong numbers at every level. Could be quite the get. So young still, and I would like to see him above A ball before getting too excited. But, really, he looks like a solid rotation prospect, maybe better than that. Plus he is a righty, which just feels nice to have with all the lefties in the minors.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Sorry, meant 360 wOBA for Cain.

People will probably rush to trash this trade. With names like Montero and Drabek and Perez thrown around all offseason, returning a bunch of relative unknowns from Milwaukee probably isn’t that exciting. And, really, I still don’t see an impact player in the bunch. But I am trying to avoid a knee-jerk reaction, and these players are beginning to look better. At the very least they all look like ML-caliber players, and that is quite good.

Still not certain how I will eventually feel. Starting to feel better though.

Written by Ted about 5 years ago.

Do the Yankees end up with Greinke in two years?

Of course they will act like this doesn’t matter, and, from all accounts, they really didn’t want to commit the prospects to make a Greinke trade happen, which is in keeping with Cashman’s philosophy re: building from within. But this offseason has been a disaster for them, and soon the fans will get restless. Lee is in Philly. Pettitte is dragging his heals. Greinke went to Milwaukee. Pavano is a no-go. Webb and other reclamation projects are probably not appealing. Garza won’t be any cheaper than Greinke, and probably won’t be traded in division. Hernandez is not available. So how are they going to improve?

Written by Abh about 5 years ago.

so now… worst rotation in MLB? Worst lineup? Hope the success rate of our “Top 10″ prospects is a little higher than Escobar’s OBP last year. I also wonder about the league effects distorting this trade… I think Greinke will likely destroy the NL, and not sure what effect the AL might have on Escobar’s performance short term.